You Promised
by Poisoned Puppeteer
Summary: Itachi promised Hinata something he'd always meant to keep, but what about what Hinata's been doing while he was away? Rated K for now. Will almost definently go up
1. Prologue: Promise?

"Hina-chan..." "Hai, Itachi-kun?" He held her hand, enveloping hers in his larger one. "If I ever happened to leave... To get bored of my current life... would you hate me?" "But Itachi, you wouldn't-" "Please, Hinata. Just answer me." The 8 year old looked down at the ground, thinking. They reached a lone tree in the middle of the field they'd been walking in. From the tree hung an ancient swing, terribly old by the looks of it, and easily breakable, but he set her down nonetheless, giving her a slight push.

"Well?"

"Would you come back for me?"

"Hinata, you have no idea what you're asking me..."

"Well. Maybe it's a yes, then."

"And if I said I would?" His voice was strained, as if he was trying not to shrivel in pain.

"Then... Itachi...Then, I would wait forever and ever until you came back for me." She heard him sigh in relief.

"Hinata, I'm definitely coming back for you!"

She laughed joyously, pumping her legs as he pushed her high into the air. Then, in a flash, he was in front of her, holding his arms out and waiting to receive her. She leapt from the swing as it reached the peak of its cycle, and he caught her safely in his arms, holding her against his chest. Itachi felt a strange, lightening feeling as he held his best friend. He'd never felt such a thing before. Not for his annoying little brother. Not for Father, in whom all of his hopes had vanished. Not for Shisui, his dead "adopted" brother. Jealousy, he knew. He'd felt jealousy before. He felt it whenever Sasuke played with Hinata. Anger was something he often experienced in his time with 'otou-san'. And now, he felt love. Love, when he held a small, beautiful child in his arms. '_At least_,' he thought, placing a small kiss on the top of her head, _'I met her after I killed Shisui..._'Itachi felt a shiver course through his body, and clutched her tighter. '_I won't let you get hurt_,' he promised her to himself, '_not while I'm around_.'

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Ugh. This was _supposed _to be a one-shot, but...it turned out much longer than I meant it to. So. This is the first fanfiction I've ever posted here! So please review, because I know its not very good. Any kind of comment is welcome, flames, critisisms, anything! So yeah. Thanks. 


	2. Chapter 1: I Miss You

Hello, people actually bothering to read this! I love you. :) I wanna thank the people who reviewed the first chapter. I updated just because I already had the second part typed up and you encouraged me. Thanks!

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'_Well_,' she thought, clutching Naruto's hand, '_this is it...!_" Try as she might, she could not enjoy this. No matter what she thought, said, or saw, it would not change what she had unconsciously decided. She didn't belong to Naruto. She shouldn't. She belonged...to _him_. But…if she belonged to him… then why was she, on the day of her 19th birthday, getting married…? And not even to him, no, it was not he holding her hand… '_Then why the heck are you getting married?_' She wondered, squeezing Naruto's hand tighter. Again, she belonged to him. He whose name she did not know. He came to her in her every night when she was asleep, in her dreams. She'd stand there, waiting, and once she jumped, decided he wouldn't come, he'd always catch her, enveloping her in the darkness that was him. And then he'd kiss her, and she'd be small again, and he'd be able to hold her as if she were his own. But that wasn't how he loved her. He loved her with a much deeper love, much like the kind reserved for fairytales. She didn't have to hear him say it; she knew well enough without that. It was easy to tell. When she looked at the darkness billowing around her, she knew it wasn't there to hurt her. Quite the opposite. But every time she'd try to feel him, caress his cheeks, his lips, anything…

…_he'd vanish._

He'd vanish and leave her in that oh-so-familiar field. And she'd run into the surrounding forest, screaming a name she did not know, looking for him. Strangely familiar hands held her back, and she struggled against them. Though they were gentle, she did not like them- They were not like the other hands that held her, the ones she longed for most of all…

And this was when she realized it was quiet. "Speak now, or forever hold your peace," said the priest, looking bored as ever. Next to her, Naruto squeezed her hand. "This is it, Hinata! This is it," he whispered excitedly. She suddenly felt herself fill with dread. Suddenly as the priest began to speak again, someone said, just loudly enough, "I object, father." Everyone looked around, trying to spot the speaker and contradict him. "And….for what reason?" Replied the priest calmly. The voice, sounding arrogant and as if it was stating the obvious, said, "She does not love him, yes? She says she does, and yet you see the regret in her eyes. Thus, there is someone else…" He paused, as if for dramatic effect, and Hinata could imagine whoever it was smirking. "…Or she does not love him! And with that, I leave you." Everyone scanned the room, looking for a puff of smoke, a substitution, anything. But no one found anything. And then…

She realized it.

What if she _didn't _belong with Naruto…? What if this was all just a big, _huge _mistake and she was about to go through with it? Well, if she was having second thoughts there was no way she was gonna wait until she really regretted it to run. _Run now, _said the voice in her head, _RUN, you idiot, _RUN!!! She yanked her hand out of Naruto's grasp, turned, and ran. "Hinata? Hina-chan? HINATA?! _HINATAAAAA!!_" She kept running, tears streaming down her cheeks as she desperately tried to wipe them away. She burst through the doors, through the gates of Konoha. To her little clearing. To the tree in the middle. To the swing that hung from it.

_To her sanctuary._

Once she'd reached it, she sat down at the base of the tree and wept. The single tree in the field, the destroyer of its pristine emptiness. A single tree with a single swing, right in the center of the glade. She looked up at it, wondering slightly…. Hinata rose to her feet and took one of the ropes in her hand, looking at the object she held so dearly. The object which made her heart throb so. She turned on her heel, and sat lightly, testing it. "I miss you," she whispered as a cherry blossom petal brushed past her lips. "So much."

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Ugh. I'm not really sure what to think of this bit. I copied it out of my notebook, but its edited alot. And the end bit was just...written...because I didn't have my notebook and I was too lazy to go get it. so it's not wonderful. Please review, again! And thank you for reading! 


	3. Chapter 2: Broken Love

"Why would she just run?" Asked Naruto, kneeling over his knees, holding his head in his hands. Neji shrugged. After the wedding had been utterly destroyed, they (meaning Neji and Naruto) had returned to Naruto's house to converse in peace. "Who knows? Maybe that weird voice made her confidence waver. But don't worry about it too much. She's too much of a scaredy-cat to be alone out there for too long." Naruto smiled sadly, grateful for encouragement. "Still," Naruto murmured, staring at his fingernails.

"I wonder why she thrashes like that in her sleep?" He looked at the scratches up his arm. "She fights rather fiercely. And it's the same thing every time. Maybe I should just let her be…" "Yeah, at first she seems so peaceful, though. I wonder what she's dreaming of." "Hnf. Who knows? I myself do not desire to." Naruto stood up and began pacing nervously. "How's Sasuke?" Neji asked nervously. "Ever since you dragged him back he seems sort of…down." "Hn. He's not sad about _that_, since we killed Orochimaru in the process. He was of no more use, he says. But there had been no regret in his voice. But," Naruto said, taking off his Hokage hat, "what really worries me is this. I sent Hinata to see him the other day, to give him a comfort bag. You know, Instant ramen, candy, all that other crap, and he seemed much happier afterwards."

"Have you considered that…maybe he's still…" Neji shut his eyes tight, waiting to receive the rage, "….jealous?" "Why would he be? _He_ left _her._" "Still…" Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm leaving, Neji. I have to find her." "_Hokage, _Naruto, _please,_ consider-" The door had slammed in his face.

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Hinata stared at the ground, her feet dangling in front of her. The wood of the seat creaked, threatening to break. She pumped her legs half-heartedly, going only a foot or so above the ground. As she got higher and higher, her wedding dress spread out around her. She could imagine herself as a cloud (which immediately made her think of Shikamaru, at which she smiled), floating without a care in the world….The swing was at it's limit. She began feeling bumps in the swing as she reached the climax of her swing. Suddenly, during one of these disturbances, over 15 feet or so above the ground…

_There was a snap._

She fell, again, her dress flowed out around her. She was not a cloud at all, she was a shard of hail, falling at an amazing speed, and when she hit the ground, she'd snap, shatter into a tangled and broken heap of what was once a very happy, very small child who'd fallen in love at a very, _very_ ridiculous age.

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I'm very happy with the swing scene. :o That's mostly all I have to say. Except I'm gonna put the next part up later today.


	4. Chapter 3: Come back!

There was no crash, she realized a minute after the rushing had stopped. But she couldn't _breathe_. She heard someone gasping above her, murmuring "No, no no no, sweetie, Hinata, you'll be okay, it's okay, I've got you, I've…" She coughed, "I…can't...breathe…" and she felt someone push her over onto her back and push hard on her stomache.

"Oh god, please be okay….I can't lose you….!" She let out a huge breath and began to cough. She couldn't see, there was dark all around her. It all was awfully familiar….but there was more pain than she'd thought there'd be. She opened her arms, welcoming the darkness to her. With a deep chuckle, he accepted her gratefully.

"Have you kept your promise, my little angel? Please say you have, please, please, please…" "Prom…ise?" "Here I am, Hinata. I'm back. I've come back for you," he said, nuzzling his nose into her ear. "Now…As long as you don't hate me, I'll take you with me." She looked confusedly at his face, not sure what the dear darkness was asking of her. "I'm sorry, but…I've…" "Forgotten." "I…yes." She heard another chuckle, then he lifted his hood to reveal the most beautiful face she'd ever seen. The eyes were a deep crimson, which almost immediately faded back to the black she remembered it being. "Itachi- daaaaaanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!" She screamed and tackled him to the ground, squeezing him. He laughed, a sound she'd only heard a few times. Then he lifted her jaw gently with his hands, the fingers long and spidery, and kissed her now exposed neck. Her arms, holding her away from the ground, trembled slightly in confusion. "I missed you," he whispered, his voice husky and deep, then kissed her skin again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, tears leaking down her cheeks and landing on his shirt. "I…I thought you left me." "No…" his voice was slightly muffled by her throat.

"I didn't leave you. Not completely." He looked bored still, although his voice stated otherwise. "Mm, Hinata?" "Yeah?" "Unless you planned on loosing your innocence right now, I suggest you get off of me." "Oh…!!" She turned scarlet. "Sorry." "S'not your fault. If I remember correctly, your mother was rather beautiful as well…You look just like her." He smiled, his face warming up considerably. She carefully stepped away, then sat cross-legged in the grass in front of him as he too sat up. "Shouldn't you go, though? I mean, you're sitting there like nothing's wrong. Someone will come looking for me and find you." "No, they won't." "Well, why? How do you figure?" "Because, when I left you, all those years ago, I set up a barrier around here, so only you can enter it. Even though being around people is always good…Sometimes you just need to be alone. I wanted you to have that privilege. So, the fact that no one's noticed the barrier yet means that they won't come looking for you here." "You really…still tried to take care of me? " "Of course."

He laughed, again, making his face handsomer than ever. Then he scooted towards her and caught her face between his hands. "I promised myself I wouldn't let you get hurt anymore. I intend to keep that promise, you." "Itachi…I… I don't….know…th…thank you." He leaned in and kissed her. "Hinata?" "Mm?" She sighed, her eyes still closed, in the same position as when he let her go, like she was dreaming he was still there. "Hinata, I love you. I think…I think I've loved you since that day I promised to come back. Maybe…no, _probably_ longer." Her eyes flew open, and she stared at him. "Really, Itachi? Really?" "Of course." She hugged him again, and felt him breathe her in again, his nose tickling her shoulder. Then they stayed there for awhile, he with his head at her neck and arms around her waist, she with and idle hand at the back of his head. She didn't know what to think. He _had _come back! And she could leave with him! She couldn't remember when she'd been so very happy before now.

But suddenly she felt her heart lurch foreward as she spotted a blotch of orange just outside the ring of trees.

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BUM BUM BUM. Whoever said barriers aren't seethrough? ahah! Sorry. Don't expect me to update _real_ soon, since I haven't written the next part. The ending was actually free written again. I'm just dumb, I guess. I'll try to update again soon, though! (Ps. More reviews might make me happy enough to give you alot next time. I know the last two chapters were short. T.T ) 


	5. AN: Sorry

Hello everyone. 3 First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for all of the wonderful reviews I've gotten. Thanks so much! I figured that, since I'll be a bit longer on updating, I'd answer some of your reviews, cause I'm actually a bit low on Ideas(Which is why I'm taking so long. Sorry!! TT) Anyways...Yeah. here'go.

**AnimePrincess619: **Orange juice? xD The orange splotch bit at the end? Well, thats actually a little bit of hint as to what'll happen next- I'll give you a hint. Although he's not actually there, what ninja does the color orange make you think of?

**Baby.Blue.Bird: **Well, thanks for four reviews...! Yes, there will be more of Hinata being mad at herself for leaving Naruto. The next chapter's mostly gonna be about how she wrestles with her choices- Go with Itachi or Marry Naruto.Hmmm... (personally, I'd go with Itachi. But that's just me.) I'll probably update soon after that, too... With your little how they met request. 3

**Mac2: **Well, I've decided that she probably tried to block him out, and finally succeeded in the end. Plus, she fell in love again. I'd probably forget. xD

Well, this was short...I'm sorry if you got all excited and thought I actually put up a part! ;; I promise to update in the next week or so. Maybe with two chapters, if I can pull it off. 3

By the way, I'll be writing a PeinxKonan story soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that if you enjoy that pairing. The next chapter won't be so fluffy... Hina-chan gets a little rough with Itachi. In a mad kind of way. xD


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